1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a movable shower head containing a digital clock and more particularly to a shower head that can be moved up, down, backward and forward in addition to rotating forward and backward. The shower head contains a digital clock that will provide real time and in one embodiment both real time and elapsed time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A person taking a shower would like to have a multiple of positions that the shower head could be placed to direct a stream of water to any part of the body yet leave the hands free to facilitate the using of soap or shampoo. In addition a person may desire to determine how long the shower has been turned on to conserve water and as information to children who can tell time, the length of time they are staying in the shower.
There have been numerous solutions to the problem of a person staying too long in the shower. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,653,534, 4,345,621 and 4,262,842 are all directed to timing the amount of water a person uses in a shower. U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,534 and 4,345,621 are mechanical devices controlled by a clock type mechanism for timing having a coil spring, where U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,842 is a complex electronic device that controls only the hot water. This device furnishes audio and visual indications to persons as to how long the hot water has been on. This device also monitors the number of times the hot water has been used during a given period of time such as a month or a year. All of the above patents limit the absolute time a person has the water turned on. If a person is not ready to leave the shower, the shower time must be re-set, usually with some inconvenience such as soap being in the eyes. It is believed that a person would desire to control the time by observing the elapsed time the shower has been on and turn the shower off when through. The embodiment showing elapsed time is for children who may have difficulty remembering the exact time the shower was turned on.
Another patent that provides a timing mechanism is U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,695 which times the amount of a shower water additive. One can also select the type of shower water additive from the various selections available.
Another problem that exists with standard showers is the lack of ability to direct a stream of water to all parts of the body. It is difficult for a tall person to take a shower when the shower head is located for a person of lesser height. Several attempts have been made to provide a mobile shower head. One attempt is U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,745. This shower head can be moved in a semi-circle arc whereby the mechanism keeps the shower head at a constant angle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,612 describes a mechanism that is made from a plurality of pipe members connected by universal joints o each end of the pipe member. A handle in the middle allows the shower head which is connected to one of the pipe members to be directed up and down to a limited degree. Another movable shower head described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,013 is well known in the art and is a shower head which is connected to the water source by a flexible line. The shower head is detached from the wall and is held by one hand. A slide mechanism allows one to adjust the height of the shower when the shower head is attached to the wall. This shower system has the disadvantage of not having both hands free when directing water to various parts of the body. What is needed is a shower head that is mobile to not only be directed downward on top of a person but to be able to direct water to any part of the body desired while leaving both hands free.